Mechanism for rolling storage-battery grids



May 8, 1928.

Inventor Alexander Van derLufl Filed April 19, 1924 A VAN DER LUFTMECHANISM FOR ROLLING STORAGE BATTERY GRIDS N a, m,

Atty

Patented May 8, 1928.

UNITED STATES ALEXANDER VAN DER LUFT, OF ST. PAUL'MINNESOTA.

MECHANISM FOR ROLLING STORAGE- BATTERY GRIDS Application filed April 19,

The present invention relates to rolling mechanism, and moreparticularly to a machine for rolling lead into the form of storagebattery grids.

Most of the grid plates employed at present in the manufacture ofstorage batteries are made by casting lead into the form of grid plates,having openings therein. These openings are packed with lead sul- JOphate and the battery is then assembled, -filled with diluted sulphuricacid, and a charged. In order to make lead flow freely into a mold whilecasting, it is necessary to add a small amount of antimony, or other )5low melting metal to the lead, althou h the addition of such metal isnot desirable in a battery grid plate.

An object of the present invention is to form lead into a storagebattery grid plate. .20 by rolling it. I

Another object is to improve and simplify a method of manufacturingstorage battery grid plates.

In order to attain these objects there is provided in accordance withone feature of the invention, a main hopper, havin heating means,adjacent thereto, in whici lead is reduced to a molten state, anauxiliary hopper placed above the main ho per to feed a. supply of leadinto the main opper, and rolls placed beneath an openin in the bottomof/the. main hopper, said ro ls having a configuration on the surfacethereof of a shape to form lead, expressed therebetween" from the mainhopper, into perforated plates suitable for use as storage better grids.j

hese and other features of the invention not specifically mentioned willbe more fully 40 brought out in the following description and theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1, is a view in isometric projection of a machine made inaccordance with the present invention, portions thereof being .45 brokenaway. o v

Figure 2, is a view in top elevation of a pair of rollers made inaccordance with the present invention, having impressed on the surfacesthereof opposed patterns of a shape to form battery grids from leadexpressed therebetween.

Figure 3, is a fragmentary front elevation of a battery grid made .bythe machine,

shown in Figure 1; and

as Figure 4, is a section thereof on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

away frem the heating element 1924. Serial No. 707,611.

b v .1,66$l,17 9 PATENT OFFICE.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a

supporting frame .A is provided with legs 1,

supported by the frame A in position laterally adjacent each other asshown in Figure 2. In the periphery of each of the rolls is a pattern asshown, of a confiuration to form material expressed between theu'ollsinto the form shown in Figures 3 and 4. Gears 12 are connected to theshafts of rolls 2- and serve to keep the patterns on the rolls inregister with each other. A pulley 13 connected to the shaft of one ofthe rolls may be rotated by a belt, not shown, attached to a suitablesource of power. .Carried by the frame A above the rolls 2 is a hopper 3which may be termed the main hopper, and this hopper is provided with aslotted opening centrally located in the bottom'thereof immediatelyabove the line of juncture of of fusion thereof. A second hopper 7 whichmay be termed a storage hopper may be supported with respect to the mainhop on as by means of supports 8. This second hop per may be chargedwith a supply of lead by gravity, and thereby continuously supply themain hopper with lead which will be melted b the heating element. up tothe bottom 0 the secondary hopper. Inasmuch as the lead in the secondaryhopper is held y the walls of the secondary hopper the lead .thereinwill not be melted until'fed down into the main ho er.

e "operation fwhich will be fed down into the main hopper of the-deviceis as follows: i

"A supply of solid metallic lead is placed.

in the seconda hopper 7 and EPOI'tlOn of it asses dOWI'LHltO the mainhopper 3. Here it is subjected to the heat of .element 6 and meltedthereb When a suflicient' amount of molten lea is present-in the mainhopper, the gate 5 may be opened and molten ead allowed to-flow downonto the rolls 2.

The rolls may then be started to rotate in and discharged from themachine.

Wardly toward each other so as to express lead between them, and thepattern impressed in the face of the rolls will be communicated to thelead as it is expressed l.)8-

tween them and plates 9 similar to that shown in Figures 3 and 4 will beformedlby he cooling effect of the rolls and the atmosphere issutlicient to solidify the molten lead as itis expressed by the rolls. i

The grid plates formed by a machine made in accordance with thisinvention have openings 10 which are packed with lead sul-' phate pastewhich, in accordance with a well known principle, is changed uponcharging in the positive plates to lead dioxide and in the negativeplates to sponge lead. By

shaping the indentures in the rolls to p1o-' duce perforations in thelead grid plates of the shape shown in the .illustration, the paste oflead sulphate is gripped in each perforation and secured againstdislodgment.

, grids.

In usingthe present mechanism to formbattery grid plates no lead isWasted as is the case in casting, where the lead in the gate portion ofa mold must be broken olf and scrapped.

What I claim is: I

In a battery grid rolling machine having a container for melting metal,a discharge opening control means for discharging metal from saidcontainer, a pair of rolls positioned to receive melted metal from saiddischarge means to roll and chill the metal between said rolls, theperipheriesof said rolls having channeled patterns therein, the channelsbeing positioned to intersect each other to form studs therebetween, thestuds of each roll contacting with the studs of the other roll at thenormal peripheries of the rolls and being pressed together to force themolten metal from the areas occupied by the studs, and to mold the metalin the channeled portions of said rolls to form battery In testimonywhereof I afiix my signature.

ALEXANDER VAN DER LUF T.

